The 2016 Mourvèdre is composed of 89% Mourvedre, 9% Syrah and 2% Viognier coming from the Alta Mesa Vineyard in Santa Barbara County and Larner Vineyard in Ballard Canyon. Seventy percent whole cluster was employed, and the wine was aged for 21 months in French barriques, 50% new. Deep purple-black colored, it slips out of the glass with gorgeous fragrant earth, truffles and garrigue scents over a blackberry preserves and baked plums core plus nuances of chargrill and underbrush. Full-bodied, rich and seductively generous in the mouth, it has beautifully plush, velvety tannins matched by fantastic freshness, finishing long and savory. Only 210 cases and “a few” magnums were produced.

The 2017 Mourvèdre is largely in the same mold, yet shows more meaty, spicy aromas and flavors. All Mourvèdre and revealing a more ruby hue, this full-bodied masterpiece gives up a huge core of blackberry and kirsch fruits as well as notes of dried flowers, peppered beef, herbes de Provence, spice, and hints of garrigue. It's certainly a big, ripe wine, yet it has awesome complexity, silky tannins, and a finish that won't quit.